The new survey results confirm what most employers are experiencing: Health benefit cost is rising much faster than inflation and wage growth. In 2025, average cost per employee rose 6.0% and an even higher increase is projected for 2026 – 6.7%, the highest in 15 years. A jump in spending on prescription drugs, due in part to growing utilization of costly GLP-1 medications, was a key cost driver in 2025. Higher cost growth affects health plan members as well as plan sponsors. With mounting pressure on healthcare budgets, employers are implementing short-term cost-cutting measures – but many are also seeking to preserve healthcare affordability with longer-term strategies designed to slow future cost increases. Read more in our
US Health News blog post
